Healthcare professionals across the country involved in the evaluation of children suspected of sexual abuse have expressed the need for a device to accurately measure the diameter of the hymenal orifice. These professionals have expressed dissatisfaction with the prior art devices and methods that are now used to measure the hymenal orifice diameter, which make it difficult for doctors to obtain accurate measurements. In addition, these prior art devices often result in unnecessary anxiety to the child patient.
One prior art device for making measurements is by positioning a paper tape measure adjacent to the hymenal orifice. Due to the flexibility of the paper and the inability to effectively position the tape measure, doctors have difficulty in making accurate measurements of the hymenal orifice diameter using this technique. Another method that has been tried is to attach a tape measure to a tongue blade and then place the device in front of the hymenal orifice. A user of this type of measuring device is still unable to easily obtain an accurate measurement because portions of the hymenal orifice may be blocked from the doctor's view.